The present invention is directed toward a test for assessing a person""s sense of smell and more particularly, toward a test which is easy to use and can be evaluated by the individual taking the test.
It is well known to otorhinolaryngologists and many other physicians that olfactory disorders occur as a result of accidents, disease states, medical interventions, aging, and exposure to environmental pollutants. Furthermore, it is now evident that such problems can serve as important diagnostic signs of a number of serious diseases and anomalies, such as ones associated with Alzheimer""s disease, Parkinson""s disease, the ontogeny of the hypothalamus and pituitary, intracranial neoplasms, and temporal lobe epilepsy. In fact, it has been suggested that olfactory examinations be routinely performed in pediatric clinics in order to allow for the early identification of endocrine disorders such as Kallmann""s Syndrome.
Although the degree of overall impairment from olfactory loss is often less than that produced by major losses in the other senses, smell disturbances are of considerable significance to persons experiencing them. For example, individuals lacking the ability to smell (anosmics) are subject to the consequences of being unable to detect escaping gas, dangerous fumes, and fires in the home, automobile, and workplace. Also, anosmics frequently complain of loss of enjoyment from eating and drinking and must exhibit extreme caution in their eating habits in order to avoid food poisoning from rancid or spoiled food.
Currently, practical, standardized, and carefully psychophysical measurement procedures have not been applied in the field of clinical olfaction. In attempts to quantify the smell function in humans for purposes of clinical testing, two major problems are present: stimulus control and response measurement. To date, the primary manipulations of the stimulus have changed the concentration and the molecular species. Although the flow rate, volume, and temporal patterning of stimulus pulses can also be altered, such manipulations are rarely undertaken in the clinical situation which requires that sensory measurement be completed within a reasonably short period of time. In attempts to minimize the difficulties in stimulus concentration control, numerous techniques for diluting, quantifying, and presenting odorants have been used.
One method used is to dilute the stimulus in relatively odorless liquids in small bottles or flasks (xe2x80x9csniff bottlesxe2x80x9d). The advantages to this method are that it is simple and flexible; however, interactions between the diluent and odorant can occur in some cases and thereby influence the empirical outcome. Furthermore, such bottles are cumbersome, easily contaminated, and require periodic cleaning and the addition of fresh stimulus material.
The most accurate stimulus presentation procedure is the air dilution olfactometer, that is, the stimulus is diluted by exposing only a portion of it to an air flow induced by the subject""s inhalation. Although this procedure is superior to the sniff bottle technique in that it provides accurate concentrations of stimuli to the naris which is not contaminated by the presence of liquid diluent, its practicality in the clinic is limited. That is, usually only one odorant per olfactometer is available at any one time, and considerable effort must be devoted to cleaning and recalibrating the system if a new compound is to be used.
Paralleling the attempts to quantify the stimulus, numerous techniques have been devised to quantify the responses of humans to odorous stimuli, although the majority have been found wanting with regard to precision, sensitivity, or specificity. Such measures have included the influence of odorants on pupillary dilation, respiration rate, blood flow in the extremities, electrical conductivity of the skin, changes in the electroencephalogram, and psychophysical measures of various sorts. Clinical testing has shown that only the psychophysical methods have proved generally useful in quantifying responses to odorants.
Applicant, in his previously filed U.S. patent applications Ser. Nos. 06/589,173 and 06/856,161, now abandoned, discloses a method for testing a person""s olfactory function by using booklets containing pre-selected odorant labels. The person taking the test releases the odorant from each of the labels by scratching the same and answers questions regarding each label. The person""s answers are then analyzed in order to diagnose the person""s olfactory function. The problem with this method, however, is that it requires assistance from medical personnel to analyze the results.
Thus, a need exists for a test which assess a person""s sense of smell which is easy to use and to evaluate by the individual taking the test
The present invention is designed to overcome the deficiencies of the prior art discussed above. It is an object of the present invention to provide a test which assess a person""s sense of smell which is easy to use and to evaluate by the individual taking the test.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a clinically acceptable method for testing the olfactory function of an individual.
In accordance with the illustrative embodiments, demonstrating features and advantages of the present invention, there is provided a test panel placed between and movably secured to a front panel and a rear panel. The front panel has two windows located adjacent to each other. Located adjacent the periphery of the test panel are at least twelve odorant means. Each odorant is embedded in microencapsulated crystals that are concentrated in a label. Below each label is a set of four choices. Each choice has means for indicating that that choice has been selected. When the front panel is placed over the test panel and secured thereto only the first set of choices and label should be aligned with their respective windows. In order to use the test, the person is instructed to scratch the label located above the first set of choices and then to immediately sniff the label. The person is then required to select the item which most closely corresponds with what the person smells and to mark it by darkening the circle located adjacent his or her choice. The person then rotates the test panel so that only a second set of choices and label are visible through the windows. The person repeats the procedure of smelling and marking his or her choice. Once the twelfth label has been smelled and the choice marked, the person rotates the front panel wheel a final time. The correctly marked choices will appear in openings formed on the front panel. The person""s test score may then be compared to the applicable standards and an evaluation of the person""s olfactory function made.
Other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will be readily apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof taken in conjunction with the drawings.